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22 September 2023 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 8041 / Categories: Opinion , Constitutional law , International
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Insurrection & court intervention: A high-stakes gamble?

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Could legal proceedings stop Trump from standing for election? Michael Zander raises doubts about the attempt to remove the former president from the ballot

Donald Trump has promised he will run for election in 2024 even if he is convicted on any of the serious criminal charges he faces in both federal and state courts. Surprisingly, there is nothing in the US constitution that would bar him from being president after any such conviction. But there is a provision in the constitution that could stop him being elected—by barring him from being a candidate in the first place.

Sweep & force

Section 3 of the 14th amendment provides that no person shall hold public office who, having taken an oath as an officer of the United States to support the constitution of the United States, ‘shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same’.

Section 3 was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War. Its purpose was to prevent secessionists from returning

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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